HoB’s Malua Biobank short listed for International Environmental award

Malua Biobank, the innovative financial model for large-scale rainforest conservation in Sabah’s Malua Forest Reserve in the Heart of Borneo, has been select as one of six finalists for the Roy Family Award for Environmental partnership – administered by the John F. Kennedy School at Harvard University.

The Roy Family Award for Environmental Partnership is presented every two years to an outstanding public-private partnership project that enhances environmental quality through the use of novel and creative approaches.

It is a global award with some illustrious former winners including: a German solar rural electrification project in Africa, a global alliance of companies to phase out HFCs and other ozone-depleting refrigerants including Unilever and Coca Cola, and in 2003 the Noel Kempff project in Bolivia which was the first REDD project ever developed.

Malua Biobank covers 34,000 hectare (80,000 acre) and encompasses the watershed of the Malua River, a tributary of Sabah's longest river, the Kinabatangan. Malua lies within the Heart of Borneo boundary, is supported by WWF Malaysia and is one of the WWF HoB Global Initiative’s ‘Forest Solutions for a Green Economy’.

The Biobank restores and protects the Malua Forest Reserve and finances this through the sale of voluntary biodiversity conservation certificates. The purchase of biodiversity certificates from the biobank allows end buyers to support forest conservation and a greening of the supply chain, whilst generating commercial returns for the investor.

And the finalists are!

According to the administrators of the Roy Family Award, this year saw no shortage of stellar entrants making the selection of just six finalists, a very difficult task. The finalists are:

The finalist selection was based on criteria measuring the partnerships’ innovation, effectiveness, significance, and transferability. The nominees were reviewed by the Harvard Faculty of environmental policy and the finalists will be peer reviewed by partnership experts from around the world. These reviews and background materials will be submitted to the selection committee for a final decision, with the final award presented at the Harvard Kennedy School in the US, later in the year.

The mission of the Roy Family Award is to encourage governments, companies, and organizations worldwide to push the boundaries of creativity and to take risks that result in significant changes that benefit the environment and create leverage for greater action.